A Vampire's Paradise

When I awakened, I found out that the world had changed a lot. The Humans had evolved, in a way. They had better weapons, bigger cities and lived slightly longer lives. I admired and respected them for that. Unfortunately, the Vampires hadn't evolved. They were still marauders, stalking across the land, killing random Humans for blood. They were always small in number. Often, the Humans of a local town or city rose against them and hunted them down. Many a Vampire met an untimely end. If you ask me, that's exactly what they deserved. Being Immortal doesn't give you the right to be a slacker. You should always strive for absolute self-improvement and adapting to new challenges. Anyone who disagrees is a loser. All Vampires and Humans for that matter should live that way.

Throughout time, I looked after my people. I sought to improve them. I admire Humans who strive for self-improvement. Why can't Vampires do the same? With every generation, the Humans are getting a little better. Vampires have all the time in the world. Eternity. Yet they're stagnating. Something had to be done. That's why I founded the Guardians of the World. I found ancient Vampires who were like-minded and we set ourselves up as the Elders of the Vampire Nation. We did what needed to be done to preserve our species. The members of the Elders were few. First, there was me. Of course. And then there was Kyllos, a Master Vampire of Greek origin. He had been around for two thousand years when we met. In his time, he'd been worshiped as a god. He impersonated Hades, the God of the Underworld in Greek Mythology. His Vampiric followers impersonated various other Chtonic deities of Greek origin and were worshiped on the Island of Crete. With him came his cohorts, the Vampire Aeshma Daeva, who impersonated Zeus, King of the Olympian Gods and the gorgeous female Vampire Atria, who impersonated Hera, Queen of the Gods. This wasn't the first time Vampires were worshiped as Gods by primitive Humans in isolated parts of the world, this was the first time I saw so many Vampires organizing such a well-orchestrated masquerade and maintaining it for untold millennia. Kyllos brought with him three dozen Vampires who, for many centuries, had been worshiped as the Gods and Goddesses of the Greek Pantheon. How about that? Thus was the Secret Society of the Guardians of the World formed.

For thousands of years, we reigned in secret. We were the real masterminds behind many powers, both Human and Vampire. And I was the Leader of the Guardians. We commanded supreme power, both collectively and individually. The average Vampire is ten times stronger and five times faster than the average Human athlete. Also, a Vampire's body heals ten times faster than a normal person's. All Vampires were immune to disease and old age. The older we get, the stronger we become. Also, Ancient Vampires have strange powers which the young ones can only dream of. Farkrull had some fascinating powers, which I acquired when I destroyed him and absorbed all that he was. He had the ability to regenerate, something only Ancient Vampires can do. Also, he could change shape at will. I remember how he changed from an ordinary Vampire into the huge, bat-like monstrosity.

Over the years, I found myself becoming more monstrous. I couldn't change into the bat-like monster. But I could turn into something which only an Ancient Vampire might have a chance of stopping. When transformed, my eyes turned a bright red, and hair grew all over my body. My hands became talons, and my feet became paws with wicked-looking claws. And at last, I had wings. Huge, bat-like wings. I vaguely resembled a bat, the Origin of the Vampire. I loved being fully transformed, shedding my Human disguise. When fully changed, I was stronger, faster and deadlier than any Vampire. The only bad part was that for some reason, I could only transform at night. Young Vampires get sleepy during the daytime, that's why they prefer the night. As an Ancient, I retained all of my strength and speed during the day. Yet the transformation into a full-fledged Vampiric nightmare could only take place at night. That's cool. I'm just glad I can do it. You should see the looks on other Vampires when I do it.

The other Elders of the Vampire Nation possess powers which the young ones don't have, but none of them can transform themselves like I can. Kyllos is the only rival I might have. While he can't transform himself into a bat-like monstrous wonder like I can, he can assume the form of other people. He literally can make himself look like any person on the planet, as long as he got to touch them. He can't become anyone he hasn't touched. He's our resident shape-shifter. His wife Atria also has powers. This regal Vampire woman can read and control the minds of Humans as well as fledgling Vampires. She has the Gift of Telepathy. The Elder Vampire Aeshma Daeva, the infamous impersonator of Zeus, King of the Olympian Gods, has a peculiar power. He can steal the life-force of Humans and fledgling Vampires by mauling their brains. Each life-force he steals renders him stronger. Also, he can unleash that life-force in the force of blasts of electricity. He craves not only blood but also the every essence of life. He's the Guardian I trust the least. A vile beast. One of these days, he's going to have to be put down.

The Guardians of the World were founded to provide stability and civility to the Vampire Nation. We were the top echelon of the Vampire Nation. The Masters of the various Clans competed against one another to determine which one would carry our favor. So it was for thousands of years. The numbers of the Vampires spread across the World. In Egypt, Mesopotamia, South Africa, East Asia and India, we were multiplying like rabbits. In this new age, most Vampires led an almost exclusively nocturnal existence. The Vampire Race was weakening. In the old days, we viewed daylight as an obstacle, nothing more. It made us sleepy and sapped our strength but we could function in it. As our numbers increased, we got worse and worse. Any species which has any potential for evolution does so through mutation.

The Vampires weren't evolving. Rather, they were devolving before my very eyes. Each new generation of Vampires got weaker and weaker. Oh, they still had superhuman strength and speed, of course. And they were still immune to disease and the aging process. But their lifespan got shorter and shorter. In my day, a Vampire living to be a thousand years old wasn't a rarity. Now, a Vampire was lucky if he or she lived to see a couple of centuries. Why? Simply because they were careless. The various Vampire Clans often warred with one another and decimated each other that way. They were led by weak-willed individuals. In the old days, we selected men and women of intelligence, character and bravery to become Vampires. We felt that such individuals would strengthen the Vampire Race as a whole. Nowadays, anybody could become a Vampire. Anyone, regardless of intelligence, accomplishment or character. That's the sad part. What we have is mediocrity turning out mediocrity. What a sad state of the affairs.

Before my very eyes, my once-proud species was weakening. And there seemed to be nothing that I could do about it. The new Vampires were barely above Humans in strength and speed. Also, they had no idea of where they came from. In the old days, a Vampire attached himself or herself to a Clan and swore loyalty to a Master. Rogue Vampires, those renegades who roamed the land without any Clan affiliation were rare. Nowadays, renegades were the norm. The great Vampire Clans of the past were no more. They were only shadows of their former selves. Clan wars were common. Vampires were fiercely territorial. I grew disgusted with this state of the affairs and left Egypt. I moved to Ancient Rome, at the time of Julius Caesar. I had lived in Egypt for thousands upon thousands of years. Time for a change.

Ancient Rome was exactly what I needed. Rome was becoming the capital of a vast Empire and lots of people from all over the world lived there. Oh, xenophobia still existed but I could live there. Besides, I was posing as a wealthy African Prince. Even in those days, money talked. I lived in a palace in Rome, and had tons of servants. The rest of the Guardians of the World joined me. We quickly established ourselves as the Powers That Be in the city. We were the wealthiest, most powerful people around. Everyone from Roman politicians to Italian businessmen and foreign dignitaries courted our favor. As they should. For we were their superiors.

I oversaw the Vampiric takeover of Ancient Rome. There were a few other Vampires in town. If there's one thing which I will not tolerate, it's competition. I got rid of all the Vampires in town. Personally. The other Guardians assisted me. We fell upon them like lightning on soft grass. They never stood a snowball's chance in Hell. The City of Rome was home to exactly seven Vampires, the seven Guardians of the World. Word was sent out to all of the Clans to keep out of the Eternal City, lest they face extinction. They heeded our warnings. The city was ours. As it should be. We are Vampires. The Race Created To Kick The Collective Ass of The Universe. End of story. From our new headquarters in the City of Rome, we ruled the Vampire Nation. We accepted delegates from the various Clans and allowed them to visit us outside the city gates unscathed. All Vampires were required to follow a certain Code of Rules. Those who disobeyed were killed. No ifs, ands or buts about it. Eternity gets really short for troublemakers.

And so it was. We ruled the Vampire Nation, forever looking after our species. Sometimes, the Clans considered us to be ruthless overlords and in many ways we were. As times changed, so did we. We were known by many names in many different languages. Always the guiding light of the Vampire Nation in its time of need. We made sure that Humanity forgot we existed. Vampires became the stuff of myth. How quickly they forget. I smile when I remember a time when Vampires only lived among Humans in Ancient Egypt. We remained in Rome for centuries. When the Roman Empire fell, we went East, to Constantinople. Afterwards, we went to France. There was a time when we lived in Florence, Italy. That was during the Renaissance. My favorite was when we moved to the Old West, in North America. Back in the days of cowboys and indians. It's one of my favorite time periods. The Guardians remained in North America. Our final location was Boston, Massachusetts. The Intellectual Capital of the World. This move was done at the dawn of the twentieth century.

The twenty first century was a puzzling yet fascinating time for me. Things were stable in the Vampire Nation. Our numbers were high. The Clans were stable. The Guardians and I made sure none of their conflicts ever wound up discovered by the Humans. Any Human who discovered the truth about the existence of Vampires was killed. End of story. Any Vampire whose actions threatened the rest of us with exposure to the Human world was also eliminated. The Rules were made to be obeyed by all of us. No exceptions. The twenty-first century was also the century during which the Vampire Nation would face its greatest threat. I haven't mentioned the Elder Vampire Aeshma Daeva, the infamous impersonator of Zeus, King of the Olympian Gods in a while, have I? Well, he finally revealed his true colors one night when he tried to kill all the members of the Council of Guardians. I personally put him down. He attacked Kyllos and Atria, and managed to overpower them both. I snuck up behind him and struck his head off his shoulders with my broadsword. He died instantly. Or so I thought.

Before our astonished eyes, Aeshma Daeva's head grew back. The bastard could actually regenerate his head after it had been cut off. I didn't know of any Vampire who could do that. I set him on fire, thinking this might be the end of him. Sometimes, I forget how hard to kill Ancients can be. A burning, screaming Aeshma Daeva leapt off the building rooftop and fell into the Boston Harbor. Atria, Kyllos and I desperately searched for him. We couldn't find him. We also discovered that he had somehow managed to kill the other Guardians. Aeshma Daeva was a true monstrosity. I didn't know if he could be killed. It occurred to me that he was as beyond Vampires as we were beyond Humans. A new order of being. A Super Predator. What kind of Hell were we in for?

Unbeknownst to us, Aeshma Daeva had been planning his coup for years. We thought we could contain this. We alerted the Masters of the Clans that Aeshma Daeva was to be trusted no longer. The rest we would handle ourselves. I figured that between Kyllos, Atria and myself, we had enough raw power to stop him. Our powers had grown over the years. Kyllos could assume the shape of any living thing he touched, whether it was Human, Animal or Vampire. Atria's Gift of Telepathy had grown over the years. She could read and even control the minds of Humans and Vampires across great distances. She could also move objects with her mind, a talent called Telekinesis. As for myself, I had grown in strength and speed. And sunlight's presence no longer prevented me from assuming my bat-like form. We thought we could take on Aeshma Daeva. We were wrong.

Aeshma Daeva had been feeding on Vampires for thousands of years while the rest of us had been feeding on Humans. Vampires are forbidden to feed on one another. Cannibalism among Vampires used to be common, until I wiped out those who embraced this rather disgusting practice. When a Vampire drains the blood of another Vampire, he or she absorbs that Vampire's strength, knowledge and power. I gained the ability to regenerate and shape-shift into bat-like form from Farkull, the First Master when I killed him. Who knew how many Vampires powers Aeshma Daeva now possessed? He had been doing a lot without our knowing. Notably, he had secretly created an Army of Creatures. And now, he wanted to unleash Hell on Earth. The next time we faced Aeshma Daeva, he displayed powers we couldn't imagine. He was stronger than ever before. And he couldn't retain his original form for long. Rather, he was slowly becoming a huge, bat-like creature much larger than the one I occasionally turned into. Also, what normally stopped any Vampire regardless of age, such as fire and decapitation, now only slowed him down. Had he succeeded in becoming truly Immortal?

The things he created were living nightmares. I can't tell if they were once Human or Vampires. They were simply ugly. They were humanoid, with scaly blue skin and bright yellow eyes. Also, they had a mouth full of curving fangs, and taloned hands. They craved blood, from Human and Vampire alike. They could make themselves look like Humans, but couldn't keep the masquerade for more than a few hours. Aeshma Daeva called them Daevians, the Destroyers. They were ugly. But none were as ugly as him. Aeshma Daeva had mutated into a huge, bat-like creature. A monster of inhuman proportions. Three times larger than the one I occasionally turned into. And he could no longer return to his Human-like Vampiric body. He was permanently stuck in the form of a monster which would scare the living daylights out of the most wicked Vampire in the land. I mean, I took one look at what Aeshma Daeva had turned into, and for the first time in my life, I felt like wetting my pants. He was that scary. Fortunately for us, the mutation rendered all of them very vulnerable to sunlight. No, it wouldn't make them burst into flames but they were extremely weak in the daylight hours. Weaker than even we. They were underground dwellers.

The frightening thing about them is how fast they multiplied. It takes a Human bitten by a Vampire three to four days before they become a Vampire. The Daevians bite turned a Human being into one of them in a matter of hours. In no time, there were thousands of them. They fell upon the Vampire population like a hammer on an egg shell. You might be surprised with how much fear and confusion the Vampires reacted. After all, we're predators with superhuman strength and speed, right? Well, there were new predators in town. A new race of being which not only matched Vampires in strength and speed but also surpassed them in brutality and sheer animal ferocity. The Daevians were little more than mindless beasts. We had never seen anything like them, not even in the depths of our worst nightmares.

This is how a Race of Immortal beings die. For tens of thousands of years, the Vampires ruled the world as the top predators. Right underneath Humanity's noses. We ruled the night. Unlike every other species on the planet, we even managed to conquer death. If he plays his cards right and has good luck, a Vampire could live forever. That was supposed to be our deal in this life. And it was, until the Daevians, Creatures of Destruction, came along. They did to Vampires what we did to Humans for eons. They hunted us down, caught us and fed on us. The Daevian's appetite for Vampire flesh and blood was insatiable.

Kyllos, Atria and I urged the various Vampire Clans to unite against the common threat of the Daevians. When their numbers began dropping like flies, the Vampires finally listened to reason. But by then, it was already too late. In cities across the world, in the clubs, mansions and lairs where Vampires gathered, hordes of Daevians came. They could find our kind no matter where we did. These monsters could survive being decapitated, and even burned to blackened skeletons. They always regenerated. The only thing which seemed to stop them was sunlight, but that wasn't a great advantage to us because most Vampires had devolved to the point of being unable to truly function in daylight. We didn't burst into flames in daylight, but we fell into a lethargic state almost instantly. We were no better than the Daevians.

Every Vampire on the planet Earth stocked himself or herself up with weapons and tried to hide when the Daevians began storming our lands. We stuck together for mutual protection at first, then realized that our numbers attracted the Daevians, who could somehow psychically sense us across great distances. Wherever we went, they found us. In Europe, Asia, Africa, America and Antartica, Vampires died. Leading them was Aeshma Daeva, the Lord of Destruction. Every night, the numbers of the Daevians grew and ours shrank. We tried to build ourselves an Army, first by uniting the various Clans, then by mass-turning Humans. That didn't work. The newbie Vampires were helpless against the hordes of the Daevians.

For the first time in a long time, I felt truly frightened. Was this to be the End of the Vampire Race? I shuddered to think. Yet as the years went by, our numbers kept dropping. I watched as my close friend Kyllos died. He was leading one of the largest Vampire Clans into battle against the seemingly endless hordes of the Daevians. He fell, and was devoured by them. His eternal paramour Atria went to his rescue, and she too was consumed by the Daevians. This was a shocker. I knew that Vampires could die at the hands of the Daevians. They killed enough of us to prove that. In spite of their savagery and powers, I didn't think they could kill us. Until I watched my friends die before my eyes, and could do nothing.

Angered, I willed myself to assume the form of the giant bat. I soared into the skies, and began picking off the Daevians one by one. They were helpless before my might, until they began using guns. I was shot down and only the intervention of a few Vampires allowed me to escape. My rescuers whisked me off to Antarctica, where the few remaining Vampire Clans were making their last stand. Why Antarctica? It's an isolated, desolate continent. Not much over there. In the cities of the world, the Daevians found us and hunted us down like cats hunted mice. But we had discovered their weaknesses. The Daevians were warm-blooded creatures. They were vulnerable to the cold. We weren't. Being undead, we were usually room temperature. It is in Antarctica that the Vampire Nation made its last stand. And I was with them. Not as some Vampire Elder ready to dictate to them but as a fellow Vampire, ready to fight for his people and die for them if need be.